Category: Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery

Can you help with tidying up the Cemetery, get some fresh air and make new friends at the same time?

Litter in Brandwood End Cemetery

LITTER PICK:  SUNDAY 2ND DECEMBER 2012.

The Friends carry out four litter picks each year and we really need your help to keep the Cemetery tidy for family and visitors.  You don’t have to be a member just willing to help out for 90 minutes.  Litter pickers and bags are provided!

Please put the date in your diary and come along if you can.  All you need is sturdy shoes, gloves and suitable outdoor clothing!

We meet at the Lodge at 10.00am and are generally finished by 11.30.

We are in need of all the help we can get to keep the Cemetery looking clean and tidy.

See you there?

We REALLY do need your help please

Brandwood End Cemetery Civilian Garden before weeding
Before weeding….
Brandwood End Cemetery Civilian Garden before weeding
Before weeding….
There is a large amount of weeding and edging that needs doing to restore the Civilian Garden to it’s normal impressive setting.
To undertake this work The Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery will be holding a ‘Gardening Work Day’ in the Civilian Garden of Remembrance area.
We have already made a start but it really needs a few more hands for a good tidy up.
If you, or anyone you know, might be interested to help please come along at 10am on Sunday the 30th September.  Please meet at the large Oak Tree Island on the main drive if you are not familiar with the Civilian Garden area. You will be able to see everyone from there!
We do not possess a wealth of tools so please come with your own tools  if at all possible ie kneeler, gloves, hand tools and shears.
For more information or to let us know if you can join us please email friendsofbec@gmail.com
Here is the garden looking a little better but still needing plenty of work:
Brandwood End Cemetery Civilian Garden after weeding
After…

Brandwood End Cemetery Civilian Garden after weeding

What a year it has been in the life of the Friends

Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan becomes Patron of Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery

The Friends work tirelessly to improve the Cemetery and ensure that visitors feel that it is well cared for and loved.  We thought we would share a few of our achievements in recent months and they include:

The establishment, last year, of a two year Memorandum of Understanding and regular monthly meetings with Councillor Timothy Huxtable, Cabinet Member for Transport, Environment and Regeneration, Bereavement Services officers and FBEC, have resulted in a mutually and clearly defined way forward for Brandwood End Cemetery.  The twin Victorian Mortuary Chapels have long been derelict and partially destroyed by fire, but since FBEC’s inception various works have been instigated to ensure, if at all possible, the retention of this wonderful building.  We are seeking, in conjunction with Birmingham City Council, to submit an application for Heritage Lottery funding for the chapels and will, of course keep you informed by Newsletter.

  • The Superintendent’s Lodge, vacated after flooding, is also currently being refurbished with plans being considered for its use within the cemetery.  The improvements will include the provision of a garden and refurbishment of the existing toilet block.
  • We were delighted to welcome two new Patrons.  Elizabeth Perkins, Director, Birmingham Conservation Trust, and Alistair McGowan, actor, impressionist and comedian.
  • FBEC continue to be represented on the Committee of ‘New Vision’, a group formed to continue the community cohesion begun by the 106 group.
  • FBEC have a representative on Birmingham Heritage Forum and in 2012 we will again be included in their promotional information leaflets which are distributed to most city tourist venues.

To read the full article and see what a few dedicated people and their supporters can achieve:

FBEC_Achievements

Fan mail from a Friend of Brandwood End Cemetery

Brandwood_End_Cemetery_Chapels_Enabling_Works_2012_Web
Victorian twin terracotta Chapels at Brandwood End Cemetery

 

“One of our members wrote this lovely letter and has kindly agreed to us publishing it.  As one of the Founding Members, current Chairman and Friend myself it is wonderful to know our efforts are both noticed and supported.  Thank you Jeannette!”

Anne Courbet, Chairman

 

 “It was uplifting to see some activity at the Victorian Mortuary Chapels when my husband and I visited Brandwood End Cemetery at Easter time.  It is such a pity that the metal safety fencing has to remain – not a pretty sight – but obviously it is there to protect what remains of the chapels from further vandalism.

I always try to make my small contribution towards the general appearance of the cemetery whenever my husband and I visit our family graves – picking up litter, raking dead leaves, etc. wherever it is needed.

I realise that it is only due to the dedication and enthusiasm of the Committee of F.B.E.C. that any of the improvements made during the past few years have been achieved.  I would like to say thank you to each one of you.  Thank goodness someone came up with the idea of forming F.B.E.C.

My husband remembers very clearly how beautifully kept Brandwood End cemetery was when his family lived in Yarningale Road in the late 1940s, and the general area was still quite rural.”

Regards,  Jeannette.

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Happy reading!

Become a Friend!

Friends of Brandwood Cemetery is run purely by unpaid volunteers and we need your help!  Whether you have family laid to rest here, you are an interested local resident or are interested in conservation we need you!

There are a number of ways you can help the Friends and really make a difference to Brandwood End Cemetery.  You could donate a couple of hours and help out on our bi-monthly litter picks – it is a great way to meet new people and get some fresh air.

You could become a Friend and in return you will get regular newsletters, updates on project progress, news of events and get the chance to really make a difference.

Download an FBEC Membership Application Form or email friendsofbec@gmail.com and ask for a membership form.  The Subscription per annum is only:

  • £6 per person;
  • £3 for unwaged; and,
  • £20 for a society membership.

Gift Aid

Now that we are a Registered Charity (No 1114333) you may also opt to make your donation under the Gift Aid Scheme, as long as you pay Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax at least equal to the tax that the charity reclaims on your donation in the appropriate tax year (following the last Budget the Chancellor reduced the amount we can claim back from him from 28p to 25p for each £1 you give).

However that still means if you Gift Aid your subscription it becomes worth £7-50 with the government contributing £1-50 to your £6.

No Government gives much away – so why not take advantage of this if you are a Tax Payer?  Download your  FBEC Gift Aid Declaration Form and submit with your FBEC Membership Application Form:

Thank you!

THIS CEMETERY NEEDS YOU!